Fans Want Israel Metal Band to Win Nobel Peace Prize

Jewish and Muslim fans alike seem to agree that Israeli band Orphaned Land rocks. Their combination of progessive heavy metal and Sephardic, Yemenite and Middle Eastern rhythms has earned them popularity in Turkey and other Muslim countries. Fans have started a petition to nominate the group for the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize. The petition states that the band uses music to unite diverse audiences. Example given were: being featured on the cover of Divan, an Iranian rock magazine; being awarded a peace prize by Istanbul Commerce University in 2010; and earning The Friendship and Peace Award from Dr. Huseyin Tugcu the official advisor to Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Rajab Erdogan in 2012. In 2011 a Lebanese performer received scathing criticism in her home country when she stood alongside Orphaned Land on stage while they waved an Israeli flag and she waved and Lebanese flag.